Amazon Prime's free two-day shipping option is the hook that entices many people to subscribe to the service, but there are times when waiting 48 hours for an espresso machine just won't cut it. If you're a Manhattan-based Prime subscriber who needs a package to arrive within the hour, check out Amazon Prime Now (free to download; requires a $99 per year Amazon Prime subscription), a new service from the online retail giant. Fellow PCMag analyst Will Greenwald and I each tested Amazon Prime Now using the Android app (an iOS app is also available), and had radically varied experiences that highlight the differences between the standard Amazon Prime and Amazon Prime Now.

Jeff's Amazon Prime Now Experience
I've been bitten by the vinyl collecting bug, so I decided to test Amazon Prime Now's chops by ordering Miles Davis's Kind of Blue. The $14.47 album didn't meet the $15 minimum order price, so I tossed a pack of Haribo Gold Bears into my cart to make the cut.

Before I purchased the music and candy, I perused Amazon Prime Now's selection. I knew that the goods shipped from Amazon's midtown Manhattan location, so I wanted to see the depth of its offerings. I found a variety of different items, including toilet paper, headphones, and electric pencil sharpeners—a nice variety of items. That said, I was disappointed that I couldn't purchase raw shea butter, something that I buy on a regular basis using Amazon Prime. I couldn't access my Amazon wish list, either.

Amazon Prime Now presents a few options during the checkout process. You select the delivery window (say, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.) and how much you'd like to tip the messenger who delivers your package. Here's where things get sweet: If you pony up an additional $7.99, Amazon delivers your goods within an hour. I decided to go the one-hour route and received my package 50 minutes later. I was impressed with Amazon Prime Now's delivery speed. I even tracked the package as the messenger navigated the streets of midtown Manhattan. Note: Amazon Prime Now isn't available throughout the entire borough. The app notifies you if you're outside the delivery zone.

I thoroughly enjoyed my Amazon Prime Now shopping experience, but, as I quickly learned, there are still a few hiccups in the system.

Will's Amazon Prime Now Experience
I had an Amazon gift card I wanted to use, so I thought I'd try Prime Now. I ordered the Nintendo Wii U Pro Controller($145.00 at Amazon) after downloading the standalone Amazon Prime Now app. The fact that Amazon Prime Now isn't integrated into the standard Amazon shopping app should have been a yellow flag for me, because I discovered that Amazon Prime and Prime Now are quite different.

I entered the gift card code in the app and it credited my account. I selected the Wii U Pro Controller, scheduled a delivery window in the late afternoon right before I would head home (my office is in Prime Now territory, but my Brooklyn apartment isn't), and went through my payment options. The controller's price was higher than the gift card's value, so I figured that I'd use my credit card to cover the remaining money; that's standard for Amazon orders. My saved card information from my Amazon account wasn't there, and the app displayed my gift card balance and a check box asking if I wanted to use it. I checked the box and returned to complete my payment.

The order went through, and the "estimated" receipt was for the full price of the controller, but without gift card information. I understood I wouldn't be charged until the order shipped, but I wanted confirmation that the gift card credit would be used for payment. I visited the app's order information, the order information Prime Now emailed to me, and my order history on Amazon's Web site. That last part was where the yellow flag turned red. The order didn't show up at all. My gift card credit was there, but it wasn't used.

I opened a chat window with an Amazon customer service representative, and was told that Prime Now orders were handled by a different division, and that Prime Now's customer support chat service wasn't set up yet (note: it's up and running now). The rep arranged to have a Prime Now customer support representative call me. Eventually, the Amazon Prime Now rep confirmed that my gift card credit wasn't used, and that the company could not refund the balance of the credit and apply it to the active order balance. I would have to place a new order to receive the credit.

The customer service reps confirmed something much more important, though. Prime Now and Amazon are essentially completely different services. Orders placed via Prime Now will not show up in your Amazon history, and issues with orders must be taken care of through Prime Now's own customer service system, not Amazon's. Prime Now copies over your shipping and payment information and your Prime membership, but is otherwise effectively a completely different company.

This is inconvenient, but not a big deal. I cancelled the order, and I purchased the controller through the main Amazon site with my standard Prime two-day shipping. I was informed that my account would be refunded for the order, and the money appeared in my bank account a day later. And an Amazon customer service representative gave me a $10 credit for the inconvenience.

Not Quite a Prime Player

Prime Now is a pilot program that's very different from the standard Amazon experience. Be aware that Prime Now orders are treated differently from standard Amazon orders, and you cannot track them or deal with account issues in the same way. Still, if you're located in Manhattan and don't consider those shortcomings a dealbreaker, Amazon Prime Now is well worth using. Impatient shoppers will find it a technological godsend.

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